Hi, and welcome to my entertainment wrap-up for April 2024.
Books
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Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator did a nice job, but the bookβs content was a different story. I finished it and gave it a 3 out of 5 on my reading scale.
Genre is Fantasy, Horror, Gothic, Fiction, Romance, Mystery.
Overview from Goodreads
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that canβt stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.
Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underlandβand disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that itβs best to let the uncanny houseβand its last lonely heir, Arthur Starlingβgo to rot.
Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something sheβs never had: a home.
As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares. If Opal wants a home, sheβll have to fight for it.
Five-Star Review from Goodreadsβ¦
THIS STORY. THIS BOOK COVER. THIS WRITING. This one is a top 20 for me. If you love Stranger Things and Never Ending Story mixed with a dark Secret Garden, this book is calling you, just like the house. The magical realism and weight of Opalβs world had me wishing and wanting for her the entire time. There was never a dull moment in this book. Nearly everything was explained in the end β except for Elizabeth Baine. What WAS she exactly? I WILL be thinking about this book for the next three days. I only wish to see Starling House in my dreams.
One Star Review from Goodreadsβ¦
What tf was this book even about? Like, I literally could not give you a synopsis, except thereβs a house thatβs magical, and weird beasts are involved. And the trope of a girl who needs to be strong for everyone, with a bad/traumatic upbringing, doesnβt let anyone in. WHAT EVEN HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK???!!!!
My Thoughts on Starling Houseβ¦
I have to give a high score to the bookβs cover. It is beautiful, with purples and greens. That being said, I canβt give that high of a score for the content of this lovely book. I got so lost in this book, and not in a good way, but in a confused way. The only thing I really cared about was the budding romantic relationship. Other than that, it made no sense to me, and I just did not care about the living house and all of its monsters. For me it was too far out there to even be interesting.
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I have decided to alternate reading a physical book and listening to an Audible book. The book I started after finishing Starling House isβ¦
The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
I am only on page 68 of this 376-page book, but I am really enjoying it. A few things in this book relate to an elite circus, a young girl with polio, and a Jewish boy evading the Naizis. This is going to be a very good book, but it also has the potential to be a painful read.
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Podcasts
One of my favorite podcasts on Spotify is Stuff You Should Know. It covers almost every topic. I just listened to βTestosterone and Estrogen: Wonderous Hormones.β Since I am taking supplements for both, I found this article interesting. If you still need to check this podcast out, I highly suggest it.I tried a new Podcast that I enjoyed, The Curious History of Your Home. I listened to one on βBaths.β I found it very interesting, and I have decided to keep this Podcast in my library to learn more about the history of the many things in our home. Great Podcast!
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TV
Hulu
I decided to watch The Trilogy of the Planet of the Apes, which includes three movies: The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). I did not expect to love these movies, but I did. In a nutshell, the movies are about a virus created by humans to cure illness using captive apes to produce the desired result. The virus did not do what was expected but instead made apes extremely intelligent and killed or reduced the intelligence of some humans. The apes in this movie are amazing. They are intelligent and compassionate. But as in anything else, there is good and bad in the community of the apes and the humans, and because of this, their worlds collide. Many times I was cheering on the apes rather than the humans. Emotions were depicted so well by the creators of this artistic masterpiece that it made the apes come alive. You could feel joy, pain, fear, love, and hate in these characters. If you have not watched it, I highly recommend it. You will fall in love with Caeser and many of the cast of characters, both ape and human.
These movies are exciting and emotional. Trigger warnings for violence, but well worth the watch.
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My Song of the Month is by Dan and Shay.
(Click above to hear the audio)
I would love to know what you are reading, watching, and listening to.
Kathiey V.